Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware and software may be products that are freely available in a commercial marketplace and may generally be available for public use. COTS products often have the benefit of being low-cost and easily replaced. Additionally, COTS products are often upgradable in ways that often benefit consumers. As an example, today there are a multitude of COTS mobile devices (e.g., smartphones, tablets, laptops, etc.) available that have a multitude of different functions and capabilities depending on the desired application of the user. The COTS devices may execute various types of operating systems and software, for example iOS, Android, and/or Windows. The large number of features and high degree of customization of COTS devices make them desirable to various types of users and for a wide range of uses. However, COTS devices may also be an attack target for a plethora of diverse threats.
For example, in many instances COTS products may lack certain security features that allow the product to be fully utilized or trusted. For example, COTS communication devices may be unable to achieve basic trust and robustness with software that may or may not be trustworthy. Thus, a traditional COTS communication device may be unable to provide the high levels of assurance or security necessary to protect various types of sensitive data.